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Drakon #4
The Treasure Keeper
With such novels as Queen of Dragons and The Dream Thief , Shana Abé has created a unique and vividly imagined world that exists side by side with our own—a realm populated by a race of supersensual men and women whose power to change shape permits them unlimited acts of pleasure…and ever-present danger. Now the survival of the drákon rests in the hands of a young woman with untried and unexpected powers—and the powerful Alpha male she must break every drákon law to save.
The drákon are at war, surrounded by an enemy they have every reason to fear. The sanf inimicus are no ordinary human beings but the most dangerous of hunters. They’ve sworn to exterminate the shape-shifters whose presence they now can detect, and they’ve already claimed a prize Lord Rhys Langford.
It’s a blow the drákon clans feel from Darkfrith, England, all the way to the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. But it strikes no one harder than Zoe Cyprienne Lane. A mere seamstress’s daughter, Zoe isn’t even in the same league as Rhys. In fact, as an unwed male in the Alpha line, according to drákon custom, he owns her. So nothing could be more outrageous—or personally ruinous—than the mere notion that she might set out on her own to find her childhood friend...and first true love.
But the unexpected is exactly what Zoe intends to do. For years she’s been hiding two extraordinary Gifts that have set her apart from other drákon the power to become invisible and the power to feel others’ emotions. Now, guided by a link to Rhys—his presence and touch as electric as if he were beside her in the flesh—Zoe uses both Gifts to infiltrate the sanf inimicus . And for Rhys, whose time is running out, Zoe is his last lifeline to a world—and a love—he never thought he’d regain. Only together again, hunter and huntress, can they save the drákon from the traitor in their midst who would destroy them all.
The drákon are at war, surrounded by an enemy they have every reason to fear. The sanf inimicus are no ordinary human beings but the most dangerous of hunters. They’ve sworn to exterminate the shape-shifters whose presence they now can detect, and they’ve already claimed a prize Lord Rhys Langford.
It’s a blow the drákon clans feel from Darkfrith, England, all the way to the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. But it strikes no one harder than Zoe Cyprienne Lane. A mere seamstress’s daughter, Zoe isn’t even in the same league as Rhys. In fact, as an unwed male in the Alpha line, according to drákon custom, he owns her. So nothing could be more outrageous—or personally ruinous—than the mere notion that she might set out on her own to find her childhood friend...and first true love.
But the unexpected is exactly what Zoe intends to do. For years she’s been hiding two extraordinary Gifts that have set her apart from other drákon the power to become invisible and the power to feel others’ emotions. Now, guided by a link to Rhys—his presence and touch as electric as if he were beside her in the flesh—Zoe uses both Gifts to infiltrate the sanf inimicus . And for Rhys, whose time is running out, Zoe is his last lifeline to a world—and a love—he never thought he’d regain. Only together again, hunter and huntress, can they save the drákon from the traitor in their midst who would destroy them all.
311 pages, Hardcover
First published March 19, 2009
73 people are currently reading
1871 people want to read
About the author
Shana Abe
30 books2,000 followersShana Abé is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of seventeen books, including the acclaimed Drákon Series and the Sweetest Dark Series.
She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California, and currently resides in the mountains of Colorado with her very patient husband and a lot of pets.
She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California, and currently resides in the mountains of Colorado with her very patient husband and a lot of pets.
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July 23, 2021
I actually remember very little of this book. But I DO remember that the hero had a weird pseudo-crush on the heroine of the previous book - his sister-in-law, and I was Not A Fan. There's no OW drama or anything, but having read that book first, I couldn't shake the memory of him literally creeping in to watch his brother and brother's mate sleeping in bed together like a proper weirdo.
There's a little element of 'childhood sweethearts' to this as well. Not a fan either, because I hate it when the hero/heroine are together and then drift apart. Inevitably, he'll have had lots of fulfilling sexual encounters in the meantime, while she'll have stayed a virgin. That's what happens here too. No thanks.
The plot also goes off the rails a little bit, and I never continued to read book 5 of this series because it all just stopped making sense.
There's a little element of 'childhood sweethearts' to this as well. Not a fan either, because I hate it when the hero/heroine are together and then drift apart. Inevitably, he'll have had lots of fulfilling sexual encounters in the meantime, while she'll have stayed a virgin. That's what happens here too. No thanks.
The plot also goes off the rails a little bit, and I never continued to read book 5 of this series because it all just stopped making sense.
May 5, 2017
After the disaster that was Queen of Dragons, I really wasn't expecting much from this book. In fact, I was prepared to write a scathing review about everything I hated about The Treasure Keeper. However, I didn't...hate it. I actually liked it. Well, I suppose saying I had a love/hate relationship with the book would be more accurate. There were parts I loved and adored, and there were parts that I hated and made me want to throw the book at the wall.
The plot of The Treasure Keeper wasn't as weak as the plot in Queen of Dragons, but it wasn't particularly strong. I actually think it had the potential to be a great storyline, but it wasn't executed to my satisfaction. One of my problems was that, for the majority of the book, Zoe was focused on Hayden. Now, yes, I know that he was her intended and that he was who she originally left to find, but that is where the problem began for me. I was so damn frustrated that she was engaged to him and went searching for him instead of Rhys that I disliked Hayden just for that reason (and the fact that he was quite highhanded and condescending with Zoe). However, my biggest problem was the fact that, until the last one hundred pages, Rhys was simply a "ghost" that Zoe could see because of her Gifts and their bond, and what they really thought was that he was dead. Whaaaa?? Poor guy wasn't really even in his book until the last hundred pages, in a manner of speaking!
Despite that, I actually really liked Rhys in this book! He annoyed me a bit in Queen of Dragons when he fancied himself in love with Maricara, so I wasn't really expecting to care for him very much with this book. But he was actually pretty spectacular. He is snarky and sarcastic and has a dark sense of humor. He's loving and protective, yet he lets Zoe be her own person. Really, he's pretty damn awesome.
Zoe was a person I had a complicated relationship with, though. I didn't hate her like I hated Maricara, and I didn't love her like I loved Lia, yet I wasn't ambivalent towards her either. She inspired in me this...emotion that enabled me to remain thoroughly pissed off at her while still not hating her. Odd, really. Although, she did one thing for a while after they found Rhys that made me really mad: She referred to him as "the monster." Listen, bitch. Just because he's deformed and messed up from being in fucking captivity, that doesn't mean he's a monster. Not cool, Zoe, not cool.
The revelation of the leader of the sanf in the end was quite...disturbing. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but it made me quite uncomfortable and confused. And it makes me wonder how it's going to affect the next book about Honor and Sandu.
So! All in all, this book wasn't horrible. I hit a couple rough patches, but the whole thing wasn't complete shit. I loved Rhys, it's complicated with Zoe, and I'm disconcerted about the next book. Interesting results.
Favorite Quote:
But he must be caught up in some sort of bizarrely tangled dream after all. Because when Rhys thought he finally caught a glimpse of pure, pretty color from the corner of his vision, he could have sworn it was Zoe running, quite astonishingly nude, down a busy street. And only the horses and stray dogs seemed to notice.
(Rhys, page 83-84)
The plot of The Treasure Keeper wasn't as weak as the plot in Queen of Dragons, but it wasn't particularly strong. I actually think it had the potential to be a great storyline, but it wasn't executed to my satisfaction. One of my problems was that, for the majority of the book, Zoe was focused on Hayden. Now, yes, I know that he was her intended and that he was who she originally left to find, but that is where the problem began for me. I was so damn frustrated that she was engaged to him and went searching for him instead of Rhys that I disliked Hayden just for that reason (and the fact that he was quite highhanded and condescending with Zoe). However, my biggest problem was the fact that, until the last one hundred pages, Rhys was simply a "ghost" that Zoe could see because of her Gifts and their bond, and what they really thought was that he was dead. Whaaaa?? Poor guy wasn't really even in his book until the last hundred pages, in a manner of speaking!
Despite that, I actually really liked Rhys in this book! He annoyed me a bit in Queen of Dragons when he fancied himself in love with Maricara, so I wasn't really expecting to care for him very much with this book. But he was actually pretty spectacular. He is snarky and sarcastic and has a dark sense of humor. He's loving and protective, yet he lets Zoe be her own person. Really, he's pretty damn awesome.
Zoe was a person I had a complicated relationship with, though. I didn't hate her like I hated Maricara, and I didn't love her like I loved Lia, yet I wasn't ambivalent towards her either. She inspired in me this...emotion that enabled me to remain thoroughly pissed off at her while still not hating her. Odd, really. Although, she did one thing for a while after they found Rhys that made me really mad: She referred to him as "the monster." Listen, bitch. Just because he's deformed and messed up from being in fucking captivity, that doesn't mean he's a monster. Not cool, Zoe, not cool.
The revelation of the leader of the sanf in the end was quite...disturbing. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but it made me quite uncomfortable and confused. And it makes me wonder how it's going to affect the next book about Honor and Sandu.
So! All in all, this book wasn't horrible. I hit a couple rough patches, but the whole thing wasn't complete shit. I loved Rhys, it's complicated with Zoe, and I'm disconcerted about the next book. Interesting results.
Favorite Quote:
But he must be caught up in some sort of bizarrely tangled dream after all. Because when Rhys thought he finally caught a glimpse of pure, pretty color from the corner of his vision, he could have sworn it was Zoe running, quite astonishingly nude, down a busy street. And only the horses and stray dogs seemed to notice.
(Rhys, page 83-84)
August 11, 2010
Oh so bad. I did not like the narrator's tone for most of the book. The constant switching between a letter being written and the actual story was frustrating. The characters were one sided. The story was flat. Zoe's journal entries at the beginning didn't really add anything to the story. The males' personalities continue to be extremely aggressive and borderline abusive. It was a quick read but a painful one.
August 28, 2011
This is the fourth book of the Drakon series. I kind of rated them against each other and this one would be 4.5 stars compared to the first three, but had to round it off to 5. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as the previous three. I love Shana Abe's writing, love the world of the Drakon that she has created. One BIG thing I think people need to keep in mind when reading this series is that the Drakon are not humans who shape-shift into dragons. They are dragons who shape-shift into humans and the only reason they do this is to preserve their species from humans who want to destroy them. I know some reviews on these books are critical of some of the "rules" and philosophies of the tribe and in doing so are trying to humanize them. These books are about a species that is not human but just close enough that we can identify with them, their loves, their desires, and their fears. But to judge them as humans or to expect the same ideals is just plain unfair.
From the Prologue and the prologues in these books are wonderful:
"Consummate actors, we drakon. To ensure our survival we've learned to mimic la creme de l'humanite and we do it with such skill and guile we deceive nearly everyone, betimes even ourselves.
But we are not humans, and nearly everyone is not everyone. Those are the Others who hunt us still."
I should mention that these books take place in the 1700's. I love the way that each book features a Drakon pair but with a world and characters we learn to know. Each book has a side character that is in himself or herself very intriguing but not a major part of the story. The next book is the story of that side character and it is such a welcome surprise. In the previous book Lord Rhys Langford, second son of the alpha pair (Smoke Thief was their story)has been captured and it is unknown whether he is dead or alive. The Treasure Keeper gives us the answer to that question and brings in an interesting gifted Drakon girl/woman and her story. I thought the book was a little slow in the beginning as Zoe's story was developing, but it did give a lot of insight to who and what she was later in the book. Zoe has hidden her gifts, one of which is the ability to turn invisible, from the tribe. She has a rather interesting relationship with her betrothed, Hayden, that I admittedly never quite understood. He appears to love her but then again not. When Hayden disappears on a dangerous mission, Zoe makes up her mind to find out what happened and to avenge him. I forgot to mention, Zoe also sees ghosts. When the ghost of Rhys enters the story it does get interesting. And I will not say more as I don't like to do spoilers. It was a very good read! I quite love the boy prince, Sandu, who appears in this story, and suspect the last book will involve him and his story. His sister was a big part of a previous book and the Drakon of Zaharen Yce where he rules are becoming more and more involved with the Drakon of Darkfrith, York England.
From the Prologue and the prologues in these books are wonderful:
"Consummate actors, we drakon. To ensure our survival we've learned to mimic la creme de l'humanite and we do it with such skill and guile we deceive nearly everyone, betimes even ourselves.
But we are not humans, and nearly everyone is not everyone. Those are the Others who hunt us still."
I should mention that these books take place in the 1700's. I love the way that each book features a Drakon pair but with a world and characters we learn to know. Each book has a side character that is in himself or herself very intriguing but not a major part of the story. The next book is the story of that side character and it is such a welcome surprise. In the previous book Lord Rhys Langford, second son of the alpha pair (Smoke Thief was their story)has been captured and it is unknown whether he is dead or alive. The Treasure Keeper gives us the answer to that question and brings in an interesting gifted Drakon girl/woman and her story. I thought the book was a little slow in the beginning as Zoe's story was developing, but it did give a lot of insight to who and what she was later in the book. Zoe has hidden her gifts, one of which is the ability to turn invisible, from the tribe. She has a rather interesting relationship with her betrothed, Hayden, that I admittedly never quite understood. He appears to love her but then again not. When Hayden disappears on a dangerous mission, Zoe makes up her mind to find out what happened and to avenge him. I forgot to mention, Zoe also sees ghosts. When the ghost of Rhys enters the story it does get interesting. And I will not say more as I don't like to do spoilers. It was a very good read! I quite love the boy prince, Sandu, who appears in this story, and suspect the last book will involve him and his story. His sister was a big part of a previous book and the Drakon of Zaharen Yce where he rules are becoming more and more involved with the Drakon of Darkfrith, York England.
May 1, 2011
The first thing I must start off with is this book is not romantic. If you’re looking for a sexy romance this is not it. This book was a little hard to follow and I was pretty much bored throughout. The story and the characters never drew me in and I had to force myself to continue reading. I’ll be honest, some skipping did happen.
The book starts off with a very long reading of Zoe’s diary from childhood to adulthood, which I thought was odd at first, and actually became irritated when it just went on and on, but toward the end I understood and appreciated the journey the author had just taken me on. Unfortunately that was nearly the only thing I appreciated about this book.
Zoe grew up envying all the boys who could turn into dragons. Girls of her race rarely ever gained powers of their own, and if they did they were forced to wed the upper class and breed. Throughout the diary we find that Zoe realizes she not only has a gift but she must hide it or else she will be forced to wed Rhys, the clan leaders son. Zoe thus develops a relationship with another male who is very regal and never shows or expresses love for her—or even kisses her. But she convinces her self that she’ll be happy with him because *puke* she wants to be able to chose her own husband.
When her soon-to-be husband disappears while on a mission for their clan Zoe defies her people and leaves the safety of her home to save him. Of course she has no knowledge of the outside world and has to learn as she goes. Zoe has no idea where or how to find her man so she just wonders around for a bit until she runs into Rhys who was also sent to find her soon-to-be husband.
What I mostly don’t like about the whole thing is that Zoe resents Rhys, and only gives into him because it’s expected of her by their dragon society (and the fact that her soon-to-be husband conveniently dies). Rhys maintains that he’s loved Zoe from the start but Zoe never reciprocates the feelings…ever.
Since childhood Rhys has been in love with Zoe and when he discovers her powers he attempts wooing her but she never really gets wooed. Oh, she has sex with Rhys but there’s no emotion in the act and I kind of felt that Zoe was physically unable to feel emotion in any way. I mostly felt sorry for Rhys.
The book starts off with a very long reading of Zoe’s diary from childhood to adulthood, which I thought was odd at first, and actually became irritated when it just went on and on, but toward the end I understood and appreciated the journey the author had just taken me on. Unfortunately that was nearly the only thing I appreciated about this book.
Zoe grew up envying all the boys who could turn into dragons. Girls of her race rarely ever gained powers of their own, and if they did they were forced to wed the upper class and breed. Throughout the diary we find that Zoe realizes she not only has a gift but she must hide it or else she will be forced to wed Rhys, the clan leaders son. Zoe thus develops a relationship with another male who is very regal and never shows or expresses love for her—or even kisses her. But she convinces her self that she’ll be happy with him because *puke* she wants to be able to chose her own husband.
When her soon-to-be husband disappears while on a mission for their clan Zoe defies her people and leaves the safety of her home to save him. Of course she has no knowledge of the outside world and has to learn as she goes. Zoe has no idea where or how to find her man so she just wonders around for a bit until she runs into Rhys who was also sent to find her soon-to-be husband.
What I mostly don’t like about the whole thing is that Zoe resents Rhys, and only gives into him because it’s expected of her by their dragon society (and the fact that her soon-to-be husband conveniently dies). Rhys maintains that he’s loved Zoe from the start but Zoe never reciprocates the feelings…ever.
Since childhood Rhys has been in love with Zoe and when he discovers her powers he attempts wooing her but she never really gets wooed. Oh, she has sex with Rhys but there’s no emotion in the act and I kind of felt that Zoe was physically unable to feel emotion in any way. I mostly felt sorry for Rhys.
April 20, 2019
This author can definitely weave a wonderful yet realistic story even in a fantasy world. The entire story was amazing. That said, Zee had the biggest case of denial ever. And if Rhys loved Zee so why was he so obsessed with Mari last book. It's as if they both loved each other and never realized it. Crazy. Still I love this series. The storytelling is truly masterful.
December 5, 2021
After following the series’ main quest narrative in Book 2 and Book 3, this book provided to be a fun action-oriented side adventure - which is exactly what was needed in the series. Book 2 and 3 were colder and much more angsty so this one provided to be a good break.
I also especially liked the more practical and down-to-earth heroine here, Zoe. She didn’t have the weight of the world on her or lofty desires (thankfully). She had small, lovely dreams and desire. The book follows her quest to save her fiance, Hayden, who is actually not the hero. That was unusual enough for me to be intrigued. I liked her loyalty to her finance, she remains focus on despite the chemistry with the hero, she does not stray. This definitely works better for me than typical silly PNR where everyone has the loose morals of my neighbours cat
It made the romance a little abrupt () but somehow it worked. Credit to the author there - there is so much control in these short little books that I am quite impressed.
There were portions where my attention wandered. I know this is probably because of IRL fatigue so I am going to round up for being an excellent, considered example of the fantasy romance blend. It is a bit slow but it’s not long at all which I doubly appreciate.
While the romance was slow the plot was quite interesting. The ending also set up the next book well and left me wanting to dive straight into the conclusion.
4.5 stars but rounding up because I am keeping IRL in mind.
I also especially liked the more practical and down-to-earth heroine here, Zoe. She didn’t have the weight of the world on her or lofty desires (thankfully). She had small, lovely dreams and desire. The book follows her quest to save her fiance, Hayden, who is actually not the hero. That was unusual enough for me to be intrigued. I liked her loyalty to her finance, she remains focus on despite the chemistry with the hero, she does not stray. This definitely works better for me than typical silly PNR where everyone has the loose morals of my neighbours cat
It made the romance a little abrupt () but somehow it worked. Credit to the author there - there is so much control in these short little books that I am quite impressed.
There were portions where my attention wandered. I know this is probably because of IRL fatigue so I am going to round up for being an excellent, considered example of the fantasy romance blend. It is a bit slow but it’s not long at all which I doubly appreciate.
While the romance was slow the plot was quite interesting. The ending also set up the next book well and left me wanting to dive straight into the conclusion.
4.5 stars but rounding up because I am keeping IRL in mind.
July 31, 2015
Finally Abé has created a male protagonist who gets to know his true love before having sex with her. A man who really takes his time to find out about who she is, what she's like, and what makes her tick.
Do you know how Abé accomplished this? She made him a ghost. That's right, he's not even corporeal. The reason he's not like the other men in this series, frothing at the bit to "claim what's his" is because he physically can't. He can't even touch her.
It's unfortunate that Abé feels the need to cripple her male weredragons in order to make them think and feel instead of just chase after the heroine like a salivating dog.
Let's talk about the woman. Her name's Zoe (one of my favorite names) and she is a weredragon. Well, not exactly - she can't Turn. But she is blessed with many Gifts - being able to turn invisible at will, being able to read other people's minds, being able to see and communicate with ghosts, and being immune to the Draumr. She's engaged to a weredragon, Hayden, who's nice enough, but they're not sexually attracted to each other. It's obvious she doesn't really love him because she never tells him about her Gifts. And it's obvious Hayden doesn't really love her because he obeys the Council when they forbid him to communicate with her. Also, he never really listens to what she's saying, he just kind of babies her and humors her.
Her true love is Rhys. They've been in love since they were children, but she cut it off with him because her sister was in love with him and she didn't want her sister to be upset. Later, her sister marries a completely different man, so breaking up with him and being miserable for a decade or so was all for nothing.
She runs away from the tribe at age 26 to find and rescue Hayden, who's gone missing. Rhys's ghost meets up with her and they go on many adventures together, trying to find Hayden and hunt down sanf inimicus (dragon killers).
When everything finally gets sorted, the body Rhys returns to is a monster. Half-human/half-dragon, he has claws, scars, bent limbs, etc. So even though Zoe is all "Let's have sex" he's all "No, I'm a monster now and I might hurt you."
Zoe is a strong character. She stands up to the men who treat her as a possession. I keep hoping and hoping Abé is leading up to some sort of feminist revolution in this patriarchal society she's created, but this is Book 4 and still nothing. Women are still chattel - owned not by a man they love, but by whatever man in the clan is deemed appropriate by the all-male council. Only one book left to go and then I'll be done with this.
Plus points for Zoe being a strong, independent woman. Plus points for making Rhys actually fall in love with Zoe, instead of following the pattern of the other books (see her, want her, claim her, take her - whether she agrees or not). Plus points for no sex until page 262. Minus points for heroine-is-a-virgin-hero-is-a-pro trope.
TWO REAL STARS, TWO ROMANCE STARS
Do you know how Abé accomplished this? She made him a ghost. That's right, he's not even corporeal. The reason he's not like the other men in this series, frothing at the bit to "claim what's his" is because he physically can't. He can't even touch her.
It's unfortunate that Abé feels the need to cripple her male weredragons in order to make them think and feel instead of just chase after the heroine like a salivating dog.
Let's talk about the woman. Her name's Zoe (one of my favorite names) and she is a weredragon. Well, not exactly - she can't Turn. But she is blessed with many Gifts - being able to turn invisible at will, being able to read other people's minds, being able to see and communicate with ghosts, and being immune to the Draumr. She's engaged to a weredragon, Hayden, who's nice enough, but they're not sexually attracted to each other. It's obvious she doesn't really love him because she never tells him about her Gifts. And it's obvious Hayden doesn't really love her because he obeys the Council when they forbid him to communicate with her. Also, he never really listens to what she's saying, he just kind of babies her and humors her.
Her true love is Rhys. They've been in love since they were children, but she cut it off with him because her sister was in love with him and she didn't want her sister to be upset. Later, her sister marries a completely different man, so breaking up with him and being miserable for a decade or so was all for nothing.
She runs away from the tribe at age 26 to find and rescue Hayden, who's gone missing. Rhys's ghost meets up with her and they go on many adventures together, trying to find Hayden and hunt down sanf inimicus (dragon killers).
When everything finally gets sorted, the body Rhys returns to is a monster. Half-human/half-dragon, he has claws, scars, bent limbs, etc. So even though Zoe is all "Let's have sex" he's all "No, I'm a monster now and I might hurt you."
Zoe is a strong character. She stands up to the men who treat her as a possession. I keep hoping and hoping Abé is leading up to some sort of feminist revolution in this patriarchal society she's created, but this is Book 4 and still nothing. Women are still chattel - owned not by a man they love, but by whatever man in the clan is deemed appropriate by the all-male council. Only one book left to go and then I'll be done with this.
Plus points for Zoe being a strong, independent woman. Plus points for making Rhys actually fall in love with Zoe, instead of following the pattern of the other books (see her, want her, claim her, take her - whether she agrees or not). Plus points for no sex until page 262. Minus points for heroine-is-a-virgin-hero-is-a-pro trope.
TWO REAL STARS, TWO ROMANCE STARS
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2019
The Treasure Keeper by Shana Abé is the fourth book in the Drákon series. We've heard a lot about Rhys Langford in the previous books and now he is the protagonist. After he was held captive by the sanf, who try to kill the drákon, Zoe Lane is the only one who can see him. She left England to find the man she loves with the gifts she has. Rhys is always by her side with a psychic link and helps her to find her love and the sanf. But not only the sanf are waiting for the drákon...
Yes, I switched to English, because the last two books in the series are not published in German. That may be a reason why it took me so long to settle with the book. I had difficulties to get into the story. I liked the beginning with the journal. Around the first half, I started to like the story a lot. I could not stop reading afterwards. I did not connect well with the characters this time. I don't know what it was, but it did not make click.
The next book sounds pretty good! It will be confusing as it is about time-traveling, but I can't wait to read it.
Yes, I switched to English, because the last two books in the series are not published in German. That may be a reason why it took me so long to settle with the book. I had difficulties to get into the story. I liked the beginning with the journal. Around the first half, I started to like the story a lot. I could not stop reading afterwards. I did not connect well with the characters this time. I don't know what it was, but it did not make click.
The next book sounds pretty good! It will be confusing as it is about time-traveling, but I can't wait to read it.
August 9, 2022
I really love Sana Abe's writing style and it made this story better than the story would be if someone else had written it. In other words, the story had some flaws, but the way Shana Abe describes things makes everything glisten like a beautiful romantic fairy tale. Her writing style pulls me in and doesn't let me go. The characters are dragon shifters in historic Paris. Zoe searches to find her boyfriend, or to avenge him while learning to utilize her abilities as a dragon. The male romantic lead is a ghost that only Zoe can see. She also sees other ghosts in the mirror and they don't do anything. That was the biggest flaw for me. Other than that, I enjoyed everything about this story.
April 23, 2019
This book was a bit weird ride for me. Ir started out cool, got very complicated and the highlights were weird at best. The intro to the next book was interesting but I might need some time away from this series again...
June 1, 2009
This book was a lot of fun, but on some basic level a little bit dissatisfying. I thought the characters were pretty okay and likable and interesting, but they needed something more, really like the story, found the bad guys quite compelling, though a bit of a cop out ending, if you ask me. don't like that the second love interest in the triangle conveniently dies in the end, so she doesn't have to make any hard painful decisions, and didn't like how fast she got over it and (one day) and moved on to the man she was destined to love, boring. Make him work for it. I'm only mentioning the negatives, when over all it was a fun read and I enjoyed it.
June 3, 2009
The pace is slow, the characters mediocre. The like the strong female lead however she shows herself to be fickle. There are spirits in the mirror that only Zoe can see- but the spirits play no part of the story other than they are there.... I had no reason to really like or dislike the characters of the book.
January 29, 2021
When I picked this book up I didn't know it was part 4 in the series. I think it can be read as a standalone. The author does a good job of introducing the world in which the characters dwell, I didnt feel lost because I hadn't read the previous books. There's mystery, action and a sweet love story. A pleasant, quick read.
December 14, 2010
I don't know if its just the books lately or what, but I've been catching a lot of odd ones. This book doesn't really end, and the next book coming out, Time Weaver, wouldn't surprise me if it couldn't have been combined into one book. Much irritating.
October 7, 2013
The fourth book in this captivating series lives up to the rest, half way through it became unputdownable. In each of these book relationships get resolved but the overall story carries on. On to the fifth and final book!
March 1, 2009
Another great story to add to The Smoke Thief series.
September 23, 2019
See Awshleighloveland and Tamara's reviews.
Carefully crafted, but just missed the mark. I wasn't put off by the "diary" pages, written as though in the 1700s. Very pretty book design.
How could Zoe / Zee not know she was at least pretty, and when she hears it once from her twin sister, decide she was, AllOfASudden? WHAT about all the ghouls in the mirror that were ignored? Hayden was such a pasty-faced person, with no personality or sex drive, Zoe / Zee should have ditched him at once instead of running halfway around Europe to find him (and where does everyone get the money to do things like this?). Too many loopholes. Ms. Abe does try to please her younger readers with some sex, with the steamy pages on the obligatory pages near the end. She deserves some kudos for trying, but it's just not up to my standards. An easy book to put down.
Carefully crafted, but just missed the mark. I wasn't put off by the "diary" pages, written as though in the 1700s. Very pretty book design.
How could Zoe / Zee not know she was at least pretty, and when she hears it once from her twin sister, decide she was, AllOfASudden? WHAT about all the ghouls in the mirror that were ignored? Hayden was such a pasty-faced person, with no personality or sex drive, Zoe / Zee should have ditched him at once instead of running halfway around Europe to find him (and where does everyone get the money to do things like this?). Too many loopholes. Ms. Abe does try to please her younger readers with some sex, with the steamy pages on the obligatory pages near the end. She deserves some kudos for trying, but it's just not up to my standards. An easy book to put down.
May 25, 2021
Beautiful but confusing
This is probably my least favorite book of one of my absolute favorite series. I am more heartbroken than happy for the hero and heroine by the end of the book. The title does not seem to fit, and I can't figure out what Lia and Zane are doing, other than surviving, which is a laudable goal, although I would like to know more about their lives after leaving Zaharen Yce. I am also unclear how Honor came to be this vengeful creature, and whether this is a flexible future or set in stone. I am glad the hero and heroine finally reconcile themselves to love with each other, but other than that, I am mightily confused.
This is probably my least favorite book of one of my absolute favorite series. I am more heartbroken than happy for the hero and heroine by the end of the book. The title does not seem to fit, and I can't figure out what Lia and Zane are doing, other than surviving, which is a laudable goal, although I would like to know more about their lives after leaving Zaharen Yce. I am also unclear how Honor came to be this vengeful creature, and whether this is a flexible future or set in stone. I am glad the hero and heroine finally reconcile themselves to love with each other, but other than that, I am mightily confused.
August 15, 2021
I absolutely loved this book! I might go as far as to say it was my favorite in the series. Which I so surprising considering it is number 4. I am not surprised it has so many not so positive reviews, I see their points but I didn't let the cliches or Rhys' previous (not so amazing) appearances effect me that much. The story-telling was amazing, and the hero wasn't an insufferable borderline psyco {insufferable is the key word I usually love a good bit of psycho done right} like in a couple of the other books. The hero was strong and so was the heroine, it was a romantic, sigh-inducing read which I wouldn't mind reading again.
March 16, 2020
Another fantastic female protagonist, this time with a ghostly, and later beastly, male protagonist. The male protagonist, Rhys, is great. Self-deprecating in an appealing way. The female protagonist, Zoe, doesn’t suffer fools and takes no nonsense from anyone. Also there’s an annoying fiancé, a lot of creeping around an abandoned Tuileries, strange new powers, and a PLOT TWIST re the drakon’s enemy at the end! A plot twist plus foreshadowing for the next installment, #TheTimeWeaver. That’s about all I have to say on this. I need to take a break from this series.
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December 21, 2021I had the impression I was not so keen on this series any more, but reading my comments on the previous book I think it was more that I just didn't remember enough from the previous books to feel comfortable. I can't say I've done much better, but I did enjoy this one very much. Yet again this ends on an outrageous cliffhanger - sooo many questions - and once again I don't have the next. The heroine is very prickly indeed, but it was a very entertaining interlude in an otherwise very busy time.
October 3, 2022
Zoe and Rhys may just be my favorite pairing of the series so far. I also love how independent Zoe is without losing herself. In the other books, I feel like the women always end up losing themselves to their mate. It seems like there is more love in this book rather than just a power pairing. I enjoyed the spectral aspect of Rhys shadowing Zoe. Her gifts in general are intriguing and I’m curious to see what happens in the next book.
June 14, 2023
This was really interesting as it the first book in the series that gives major connections to other books, as well as, setting up the bigger story that continue into the next book.
I really like Zoe, she felt real and well-rounded. Loved Rhys, he was hilarious to me. Loved the whole idea of the book.
The only thing was near the end it felt a bit too much. Defiantly for adults, not young readers. The ending was great.
I really like Zoe, she felt real and well-rounded. Loved Rhys, he was hilarious to me. Loved the whole idea of the book.
The only thing was near the end it felt a bit too much. Defiantly for adults, not young readers. The ending was great.
June 19, 2021
This series was really good in the beginning but I feel like the last two books are to much and the author is just trying to pull out the story. What I didn't like so much was the unrealistic portrayel of the emotions of a person who is grieving a loved one. Still I pulled through the book and was thoroughly dissatisfied and think this was kinda a waste if a Sunday... :(
October 28, 2020
A sweet story. I love their banter. Abé knows how to write, AND how to tell a story. I'm biting my lip in anticipation for the final book! (And a little sad about getting there, but happy to own them so I can always reread 💗)
July 9, 2017
I didn't think this was as good as the previous 3 books in the series. It was a little slower but still an enjoyable read.
March 15, 2018
Loved this - and a real shocker....looking forward to the culmination of this series...how will she wrap this up????
May 28, 2018
As a reader, I struggled through this book. It did not quite capture my interest as the others. Maybe a second reading is in the offing in the future.
October 13, 2019
This one dragged at spots for me. Still want to know more. Ready for the next one.
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